rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner.
brief; concise; terse; laconic.
short; shortened.
rudely blunt and brief; abrupt
a curt reply
short or concise
See blunt.
First recorded in 1620–30, curt is from the Latin word curtus “shortened, short, cut short”
I’m sorry to be curt, but let's get right to the point. You should use the adjective curt to describe a way of speaking that’s brief and blunt. Curt often just means "terse." In fact it comes from the Latin word curtus, which means “cut short, abridged.” But sometimes it has the added sense of being rudely short, like when you’re irritated that someone’s asking a foolish question so you give a brusque, curt response.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If time doesn’t allow for this, Fitzgerald says, it is often considered better to slip away than to appear rushed or insincere in a curt goodbye.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
This has been the case since the dawn of mobile devices and algorithmic personalization, but forced separations may have turned curt, unexplained goodbyes into a perceived relationship norm.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
The pair had a curt handshake after Townsend clinched victory before Latvian Ostapenko made a comment at the net.
From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025
When I did respond, via WhatsApp message, she was curt: “Hello, you finally replied to my message. I thought you were taken away by aliens.”
From Slate • Aug. 4, 2025
Here and there, people acknowledged her presence with a curt nod; but they were busy, all of them at their daily work, and pleasantries were not part of their custom.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
